Infinite Librarian X Silver Ace
by Gundam Kaiser
Summary: Yuuno Scrya, the Infinite Librarian. Subaru Nakajima, the Silver Ace. These heroes must join forces to stop a cult from resurrecting the Dark Gundam!
1. Chapter 1

Infinite Librarian X Silver Ace

**Summary: Yuuno and Subaru join forces to stop a cult from summoning the Dark Gundam and wiping out humanity.**

* * *

While Yuuno Scrya was, naturally, concerned about the guns aimed at his face, he did an excellent job of not showing it.

After the tombs he'd explored, the depraved magicks and curses he'd dealt with, and the berserking lesbian zombie warlords he'd had to fend off - _why_ were ninety percent of the people with power lesbian women anyway? Were men somehow supposed to be inherently inferior? Or did whatever passed for a God simply have a yuri fetish and not give a crap about non-lesbians? - a mere gunbarrel jabbed in his spine and several mercenaries in front of him were a relatively minor concern.

Cool as a cucumber, Yuuno asked, "What can I do for you, gentlemen?"

He'd been exploring a recently excavated ruin - alone, of course; the work crews had neither the experience nor the guts for the kind of heavy-duty cursebreaking Yuuno had been called in for - when he'd been ambushed.

Or rather, when he allowed his hostile companions to believe that they'd ambushed him. Despite being a civilian, his detection and defensive skills were equal - if not _superior _- to the famed Ace of Aces. As if some ordinary thugs would _actually_ manage to get the drop on him.

From behind, he heard a silky feminine voice reply, "We require your talent, naturally."

Yuuno couldn't help it; he snarked, "So naturally, you enter my good graces with a threat on my life."

Though he couldn't tell whether she'd failed to pick up on the sarcasm or if she was playing along, she replied, "Naturally. Being an archaeologist of your expertise, I trust you're familiar with the legends of this star system - particularly those concerning the god of destruction?"

Yuuno narrowed his eyes just a bit, before nodding. Might as well discern what they wanted with him. "In the myths of the civilization that inhabited this system four thousand years ago, it was a machine-god that fell to earth and went mad, sowing destruction on a wide scale and throwing the world into chaos until the Burning Hero vanquished it."

In mocking approval, the feminine voice added, "You're as good as advertised, I see. But what I suspect you _don't _know is the existence of a ritual to _summon _the god."

Yuuno was well aware that there was _supposedly _such a ritual. However, since this group's apparent plan was to go through with it, he was going to need details in order to effectively stop it. It'd be poor form to do something with the intent to stop it only to unwittingly play into their hands, after all. "Enlighten me, if you would."

"Of course, my _dear_ librarian."

As she said that, the woman stepped around frmo behind him. "My name is Quattro, if you're unaware. Formerly of Scaglietti's Numbers. Anyway, as I said, there is a forbidden ritual that can breach the barriers of time and space, summoning and enslaving that ultimate devil - a monstrosity that horrified the people so much, its true name was stricken from all records found up to this point. We call it Mechalathotep."

Unable to help himself, Yuuno snarked, "Because Mechathulhu and Mechadagon were too easy to pronounce."

Quattro's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, silently asking him to explain.

"Unadministered World 97 cultural reference. Horror author named H.P. Lovecraft. Known for driving his characters insane from encounters with gods too advanced for humans to comprehend."

Quattro nodded. "Perhaps I'll give the works a read then, one of these days."

After a few seconds of semi-awkward silence, Yuuno asked, "Now what's this about you planning to summon Mechathulhu and wipe out humanity?"

Quattro scoffed. "Yeah, right. You really think I'd do something _that_ stupid and risk bringing -" here she _trembled_ in visible terror "- the Ace of Aces down on my head again?"

Taking a moment to regain her composure, she continued, "Believe me, if I thought there were any chance of this doomsday crap actually _working_, I wouldn't have taken the job - impressive paycheck or no. Now then, as I was going to say, there's only one artifact I've yet to acquire and then I can take my money and get _out_ of this farce."

Yuuno figured out where this was going and said, "You'd like _me_ to get your last item for you. And in exchange, you don't kill me. That the plan?"

Suspicious, Quattro muttered, "You seem rather nonchalant about this..."

This was for two reasons. First, because Yuuno had already had enough time to set up his victory; the second, he explained aloud.

"I'm sure this is a climactic mission full of intrigue and excitement for you - let's be honest, you seem like a rookie at this profession - but for me? For me, this is Tuesday. In fact, this is a really _slow_ Tuesday at that - I haven't been shot at, drowned, suffocated, near-impaled, or lethally cursed yet."

Quattro twitched. "Are you... _complaining_?"

Yuuno cheerily replied, "Nope. Just commenting on how unusually _safe _today's been. Granted, I've been held up talking with you for a while, and the day's still young... By the by, I'm glad you took the time to properly light this room before you 'ambushed' me."

The femme fatale-wannabe stepped forward in confusion. "And why is _that_, librarian?"

With a smile as big as the _Arthra_, Yuuno asked, "You mean you haven't noticed yet?"

Quattro began to open her mouth, before she realized that none of the goons behind her had made a sound or even moved for quite some time.

In dawning horror, she turned around to see the squad of knocked-out mercenaries bound in light-green chains - the librarian had kept her completely focused on him, while he'd captured the mercs with binding magic silently and without giving away his intentions. And if the room they were in hadn't been so well-lit, she'd have caught the glow from his magic usage.

Uttering a curse, she then turned back to subdue Yuuno, but was met with a magic-encased fist being driven into her face.

Flying across the room from the force of the blow, Quattro felt her jaw dislocate. She suspected he'd busted her lip open too.

Then, before she could react further, she felt her limps snap close to her body as she was bound in the same chains as her flunkies.

Just before she could gasp out some sort of taunt, a synthesized voice said, "I am saddened by your lack of competence, Quattro. As for you, archaeologist, you will retrieve the artifact in the ruins, or we will irradiate the surface of the planetoid, thus killing you all."

Yuuno observed the drone that had teleported in and scowled at the barely-visible figure on the screen. "Do that, and I won't be alive to get you your artifact."

The figure on the screen replied, "Your cooperation is a convenience, not a necessity. I can send drones after it if I must, but your assistance is faster... cheaper... and cleaner. If not for your life and those around you, then do it to ensure the integrity of the ruins."

Yuuno glared at the drone for several seconds, before grumbling something incoherent but probably impolite.

"Fine then. Tell me what you need, and I'll retrieve it. You have my word."

Despite not seeing the figure on the screen's face, Yuuno got the distinct impression he was smirking. "Very well then, Librarian. The Sash of the Master, fabled to be at the center of the ruins - retrieve it for me, and you have my word that everyone leaves this planetoid alive."

Sighing, with no real choice but to take the villain at his word, Yuuno cracked his knuckles before staring into the dark halls that would lead into the ruin. Concentrating for a few seconds, the Infinite Librarian kneeled and rested his hand against the stone floor. "Wide-area search, activate."

As he said this, a green glyph appeared beneath him, before rapidly expanding and vanishing. Twenty seconds later, he stood up again with a working knowledge of the temple layout. It was far from comprehensive, but he'd managed to locate a few lingering traces of magic he'd need to take care of for the main team of archaeologists, as well as an exceptionally powerful barrier a few floors down.

Naturally, the Sash he sought was almost certainly sequestered somewhere near the center of that barrier.

There wasn't anyone he could contact for help within the range of his telepathy, and attempting to stall for time would probably just make the situation worse. With no other options, Yuuno took a deep breath and headed into the cloister, the architecture amplifying his normally quiet footsteps until they sounded dramatic.

While keeping a sharp eye out for signs indicating a non-magic-based trap, such as poison darts, flamethrowers in the walls, or a concealed spike pit, Yuuno briefly mused about the structure and how the ancients might have used it.

_The acoustics in here make me wonder if this place might have been a meeting hall or amphitheater of some sort. If this were some building of importance, it's possible that they deliberately structured the floors and walls to carry and amplify sounds. Perhaps a system to warn people deep in the structure about intruders, or a way for officials to carry their voices over a crowd. Then again, unless I stumble across some written records, there's no way to be certain - for all we know, the floors and walls carry sound so well for no other reason than because the architect thought it would seem impressive._

After several minutes and no problems, it occurred to him that , despite the relative size of the structure and the apparent existence of a precious artifact, perhaps this particular ruin hadn't been important enough to warrant much in the way of non-magic boobytraps.

At that moment, he detected a barrier directly in front of him, covering the staircase to the next floor. Finding a small pebble by his feet, Yuuno tossed it into the barrier, raising an eyebrow as it crumbled to pieces. Tearing a small strip off of his cape, he tossed it in as well; the result confirming his suspicion. "Probably a field that messes with either time or molecular bonds," he mused.

Popping his neck, Yuuno muttered, "Well, time to earn my paycheck," and prepared to analyze and disable the field.

* * *

Having managed to pop her jaw back into place, Quattro glowered in the direction that the librarian had gone. To mask the shame of how effortlessly she'd been taken out - punched and then caught in a binding spell before she could even react - she asked her employer, "Don't you think he's running rather late?"

The figure on the drone's screen scoffed at her. "As hasty as you are weak, I see. This isn't some videogame dungeon with traps and mazes designed to challenge a ten year-old, Quattro; the ancients - who defeated and sealed a **God** - designed this place. The man is, I've been told, the best in his field. I am confident that -unlike you- he can be left to his own devices and trusted to achieve the task set before him without assistance."

If anyone had been looking, they might have compared Quattro's expression to that of a kitten that had just been used in place of a golf ball.

Though she said nothing, Quattro mentally raged _That is IT! No more maniac bosses; from now on, all my employers undergo a background check before I fill out the damn applications!_

* * *

Meanwhile, Yuuno had disabled the field that had impeded him previously - it weakened and shattered molecular bonds, causing solid matter to disintegrate - and was now standing before the barrier that protected the Sash of the Master.

Taking a moment to analyze the powerful magic field, Yuuno eventually came to two conclusions. First, that simply _entering_ the barrier by itself probably wouldn't have any ill effect on him, though leaving could be a different matter entirely. Second, he had no means of taking down the barrier from the outside, nor could he use magic to affect the interior unless he entered the room.

"In all likelihood," he mused, "there's probably some kind of guardian spirit that'll confront me once I get far enough in."

Steeling himself for whatever happened next, he muttered, "Here's hoping I managed to _learn_ at least half of what my wife taught me..."

Yuuno inhaled sharply, stepped through the barrier... and aside from a faint tingling sensation, nothing happened that he could immediately detect.

Looking around, he observed that the room was large and cylindrical. It reminded him, honestly, of a fighting arena with several floors on top of each other. At the far end, directly across from where Yuuno currently stood, was an alcove with an ornate-looking... well, for lack of a better term, it was a treasure chest.

Thoroughly scanning the chamber with another Wide-Area Search, he was unable to find any sort of a typical deathtrap. "Artifact right in front of me, apparently unguarded, no discernable reason to leave it alone or retreat... If I had one, I'd bet my Device on this being a guardian spirit trap. Still, it's not like I have any choice in the matter... no _feasible_ way of getting off this planetoid alive before they irradiate it, and unless the status quo changed up there while I've been cut off, my best chance to end this fiasco without any bloodshed is to get that Sash and hand it over."

Warily walking forward, Yuuno made it halfway across the platform before a rough voice roared behind him.

"You must be quite the fighter, if you think you're man enough to invade my tomb!"

Unable to keep from being thrown off-balance by surprise, a detached part of Yuuno's brain began taking notes. Guardian spirits, while occasionally nightmares to overcome, where wonderful sources of information.

Turning, Yuuno observed that an old man with gray beard, braided ponytail, and wearing a purple martial arts outfit was blocking the exit.

Hoping that this particular spirit could be reasoned with, Yuuno attempted negotiations. "Actually, I'm just an archaeologist. My name is Yuuno Scrya. Truth be told, though, I'm currently working under duress. Unless I deliver the Sash - which I'm guessing is in that chest behind me - people are going to be murdered."

The old man grimaced, though the fierceness of his expression never wavered. "I can sympathize with your plight, scholar, but given the choice between a few lives at the hands of people now, or the risk of _all_ human life lost to the Dark Gundam... No, there _is _no choice. I must stop you here and now, according to the tradition of the Gundam Fight!"

The old man then took a stance that before yelling, "**I AM THE UNDEFEATED OF THE EAST - MASTER ASIA! IF YOU SEEK MY SASH TO AWAKEN THE DARK GUNDAM, THEN WIN IT FROM ME IN BATTLE!**

_**"GUNDAM FIGHTER SET!"**_

Realizing what was about to happen, Yuuno waved his hands before him in a non-threatening manner. "I'd really rather not fight you if I can help it!"

He was summarily ignored as Asia bellowed_** "READYY! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**_

He then rushed at Yuuno with teriffic speed, and despite expecting the charge, the librarian had had only a fraction of a second to deflect the first punch aimed at his kidneys. Though a number of years training with his wife Arf had made Yuuno a _competent_ - some would even say _excellent_ - hand-to-hand fighter, he was still less physically powerful and skilled than Arf or Zafira were, and it was clear to the archaeologist that Master Asia was _leagues_ ahead of anyone Yuuno had ever met.

The onslaught of punches and kicks was ferocious enough that Yuuno was struggling with all he had not to get obliterated, and the old master was steadily wearing down his guard. _If it keeps up like this, I don't have a chance..._

As a thought occurred to him, he grimaced and thought, _This is gonna hurt _so_ much..._

Seeing Asia throw a particularly strong kick, Yuuno relaxed his body and focused on creating several shields behind and below him; the force of Master Asia's unimpeded kick sent Yuuno through five floors and shattered the librarian's shields.

However, it was just as Yuuno had planned - the weak shield spells had slowed his acceleration, thus reducing the injuries he would've otherwise sustained. Furthermore, Asia's kick had been strong enough that, while he was still flying back with a cracked sternum, Yuuno had enough time to prepare his counterattack.

Muttering the incantation for his spell, Yuuno engulfed the entire chamber in a barrier that would allow for teleportation of anything inside it.

Asia lunged at Yuuno with a fist encased in dark energy, roaring, "**IF YOU'VE SOMETHING TO SAY, BOY, THEN SPEAK WITH YOUR **_**FISTS!**_"

Just before the punch would have connected and killed him, however, Yuuno teleported to a point several feet behind the Master, and ensared his ankle with a binding spell. "If you don't mind, sir..."

Yuuno then whipped the chain with Asia on it like a flail, throwing his spirit opponent into the wall at high speed, before then creating a five meter-thick horizontal column of shield spells layered on top of each other and slamming the makeshift battering ram into Asia with as much force as he could muster. As the wall collapsed, several tons of debris falling onto the guardian, the archaeologist concluded, "magic will be my fist."

Mere seconds later, Master Asia exploded out of the rubble with only a busted lip and a black eye to show for Yuuno's effort. Grinning, Asia said, "I see I don't need to play around with you then."

Yuuno blanched at how outrageously tough the ancient spirit was, before creating a single thin shield and launching it at the old man at high speed, before continuing the barrage for several seconds.

However, Asia kept breaking through the shields with minimal injury to himself, steadily making his way to Yuuno. The only thing that saved Yuuno this time is that Signature Moves are somewhat telegraphed by their very nature - once Asia's hand was glowing with dark energy again, Yuuno immediately had a sense of timing for when he'd have to counterattack.

Master Asia reached for Yuuno's face with his ebon-glowing palm with a roar of **"DAAARKNESS FIINGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!"**...

And Yuuno twisted out of the way at the last second, encasing his fist in several layered shield spells and punching Master Asia in the kidneys as hard as he could; if Asia weren't a spirit given physical form by the ancient spellwork, blood would have gushed from his mouth.

Intent on not giving the superior combatant a chance to regain the advantage, Yuuno wrapped a binding chain around Master Asia's neck and repeatedly flailed him into what was left of the walls and floors until he was too mentally exhausted to keep up the spell.

More exhausted than he could remember being at any point in his life thus far, Yuuno warily eyed the dust cloud that Master Asia's latest impact had kicked up. Once the dust settled, Master Asia was once again smirking triumphantly, though Yuuno could now discern some light bruising on the old warrior.

Yuuno tiredly asked, "I suppose you won't stop for anything less than complete destruction or something of that nature?"

Strolling toward the archaeologist at a casual pace, Asia replied, "A Gundam Fight isn't to the death, boy. It ends when one either gives up, is too badly injured to continue, or is disqualified."

A passage from a book he'd read about the ancients' war customs occurred to him, just then. He couldn't immediately recall the exact wording, but it one of their rules went something like 'a Gundam Fighter is disqualified when they are no longer in the ring'.

Granted, another rule explicitly stated that 'Earth is the ring', so apparently anywhere on the surface - or underground - was legal to fight on.

"I think... I have one last trick, then."

Making an effort to stand up straight despite the violent protest of his aching limbs, he focused on one last spell. Reactivating the teleportation field, Yuuno collapsed it until Master Asia was the only target that would be affected. Then, clenching his fist, the ancient spirit disappeared, having been forcibly teleported beyond the planetoid's atmosphere.

Praying that that would count as having 'disqualified' Master Asia, Yuuno turned to the 'treasure chest' and sat down against the side, taking a few moments to catch his breath. When a few minutes had passed and Asia not making a reappearance, Yuuno decided that it was safe to say he'd managed a win.

Managing to push himself back up, Yuuno turned and managed to push the heavy lid off of the chest/crypt/box, finding a purple sash neatly folded inside it, and in perfect condition. As soon as Yuuno grasped it, however, he was blinded by a flash of light... and then found himself completely restored to his mental and physical condition before the battle, as if it had never happened in the first place.

Taking it, he then turned back to the door and nearly had a heart attack when he found Master Asia standing right behind him. Instead of restarting the beatdown, however, the old man laughed and clapped the librarian on the shoulder so hard the blonde was almost knocked to the ground.

"Hahaha! You aren't the first lad to fight me for that sash, kid, but you are the first to beat me. Granted, I'm not as young - or alive - as I used to be, and you had to resort to teleporting me out of the ring with sorcery, but I still lost under Gundam Fight regulations, so I'll let you run off with my sash."

Caught off guard by the old man's now-friendly demeanor, Yuuno froze for a few seconds before he rebooted and bowed with a muttered, "Thank you, Master."

Asia then added, "However, if the Dark Gundam is resurrected in this world, it will fall to _you_ to defeat it."

Yuuno grimaced as he said, "Yeah, it looks like that's what's going to happen. So tell me, Master - if this... Dark Gundam, as you call it, is powerful enough that history remembers it as a god, how am I to beat it? And just what is it, precisely?"

Folding his arms across his chest, Master Asia then proceeded to explain. "The Dark Gundam is the ultimate machine of war. It has the capabilities to self-repair and to self-upgrade, in addition to having an artificial intelligence that nearly qualifies as sentient - I say nearly, because while it can learn from its mistakes and adapt to an opponent's actions, it's not self-aware. As for how it can be beaten, why, the same way you'd defeat any other Gundam: disable the head unit, or destroy the cockpit/power source."

He frowned, before adding, "You're not strong enough to break through its armor yourself, though. If you stumble across an artifact of my pupil, Domon - you'd recognise him as the Burning Hero - then you might have a chance at it. Now get going, you've got those people you were going to save."

Yuuno complied, floating across the ruined arena, before stopping at the door. "I don't suppose there's any way that you could join me, Master?"

Asia snorted in amusement. "My place is here, kid. Can't leave whether I care to or not."

Yuuno nodded, understanding. Most guardian spirits were, in exchange for a semblance of life, unable to leave their protectorate. "One last question, while I'm here."

"Sure, what is it?"

"What is a... Gundam?"

The look on Master Asia's face was priceless. "... You know what, kid? It's a long story, so come back some other time and I'll tell you then."

"I'll hold you to that, Master."

As the archaeologist left for the entrance of the ruin, Master Asia muttered to himself, "Yuuno Scrya... Hmph. If you were born in my era, you might've been quite the interesting opponent."

* * *

Now back where he'd started, Yuuno faced down Quattro, her gunmen, and the messenger drone. "I've got the Sash - can I trust you to keep your promise?"

The figure on the drone's screen replied, "Naturally. Hand it over to Quattro, and we'll leave in peace. You have my word."

Yuuno reluctantly handed over the Sash, trying to get a mental 'lock' on her magic signature. When they teleported to their ship, he'd follow along and attempt to hijack the vessel. It was subpar as far as plans usually went, but it was the best he could come up with given his time and resources.

No sooner had the Sash left his hand, however, then he felt a tranquilizer dart embed itself in his shoulder.

"Guh!"

The mysterious figure said, "I vowed not to take life here, and I won't. That said, however, I cannot have you interfering with the ritual. Good evening, archaeologist."

Yuuno attempted to fight the chemicals, but passed out after a ten seconds with a whispered "no..."

* * *

**Just want to make one thing absolutely clear, right here and now - if Master Asia didn't have the handicap of being dead and disembodied for several thousand years, Yuuno wouldn't have had a snowball's chance in hell. The man could punt skyscrapers when he was alive, after all, and while having to deal with a broken ankle at the same time. And even then, you might notice I had to give Yuuno a couple of powerups just for him to stand as much of a chance as he did - namely, adding a lot of offensive capabilities to his shield/binding magic, and even then he still would've lost if Master Asia hadn't explained that he'd accept disqualification as an alternative to defeat.**


	2. Chapter 2

Infinite Librarian X Silver Ace

**Summary: Yuuno and Subaru join forces to stop a cult from summoning the Dark Gundam and wiping out humanity.**

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**Ragnarok: Actually, no - Yuuno and Subaru are **_**not**_** married in this fic. Yuuno is married to a martial arts specialist, but Subaru is not the lucky lady. The reason the character filters are set for Yuuno and Subaru is because they're the two canon characters **_**most important to the plot**_**, not because they're paired together. As for who Yuuno **_**did**_** marry... read on, and be enlightened.**

* * *

Subaru had known, almost as soon as she woke up that fateful morning, that it was going to be a poor day. In fact, it would be more than just a poor day - it would be one of _those_ days.

The kind of day where everything starts just fine except that something that feels incredibly off, except you can't figure out for the life of you what it is.

When the local police force of a relatively backwater world asked for her help in tracking down the culprits of a museum robbery, she suspected that she'd found that 'something off', and had been satisfied.

She was no expert, but she'd had the TSAB's R&D department upload some nifty tracking programs into her device, so it didn't seem like a problem to comply. And really, she enjoyed helping others in the first place.

While she'd been steadily getting closer to the perp with each robbery, however, she _still_ kept getting there too late to make a difference. By two days, then by a day, then by half a day, and then by three hours.

Naturally, it had gone from being one of _those_ days, to being one of those _weeks_.

After a bit, she'd noticed another little detail that made her wary: each crime was further and further away from any sort of major TSAB presence, to the point that attempting to call in backup would be a moot point - by the time the reinforcements actually managed to arrive, the criminals would already be long gone, and Subaru would've long since followed in pursuit.

And then, _today_ happened.

* * *

This time, she'd hit a stroke of luck - knowing that they'd be likely targeting another museum for some obscure artifact or other, Subaru had managed to show up before they actually made the hit.

As she explained what she knew of the situation to the museum's curator, the man pinched the bridge of his nose, in deep thought. After a time, he slowly ventured, "I believe I _may_ be able to assist you, but... Idon't suppose you have a record of the stolen artifacts?"

Thankful that she'd thought to keep a list using her Device, Subaru clicked her heels together and Mach Calibur brought it up for the curator to observe. "Hrm... Yes, it's as I suspected, Miss. I suppose you're unfamiliar with the mythologies of the ancient civilization that was native to this region in space?"

Subaru shook her head in confirmation.

"Much as I'd like to wax lyrical upon the subject, I'll give you the condensed version."

He then proceeded to give an abridged exposition of the mythos that involved the god of destruction - which, unbeknownst to Subaru and the curator, was the Dark Gundam.

He finally explained, "And every artifact on this list is related in some way to the legends of that mythological cycle."

Subaru nodded. "So apparently, whoever's doing this is really fascinated with that particular bit of the legends. Gotcha. If you've got anything in here also connected to those tales, then we know what they're targeting. And if we know the target, I can protect it - and if we're lucky, even catch the perp red-handed."

The curator paused for a moment, before bringing the bluenette's cheer to a grinding halt. "Except that this musem _has_ no exhibits, artifacts, or anything else associated with that time period."

Subaru, who had been mentally cheering at the fortunate lead, suddenly froze in her tracks. Slowly, as if trying to find a silver lining around the news that her puppy just died, she asked, "Are there any other museums, even private ones, in this solar system that _would_ have the kind of target that fits this profile?"

The curator wryly muttered, "I doubt I'd know in the _first_ place, if they were _private_..."

Then, louder, he said, "Not that I'm aware of. My apologies."

Before the bluenette could start pulling at her hair because she'd been _**THIS**_ close to putting an end to the crime spree, he added that "There _is_, however, an archaeological site on one of the larger planetoids orbiting our local gas giant. You might investigate the-"

At that moment, a massive explosion rocked the city outside.

With a thought, Subaru was engulfed in a sapphire tornado of energy as her Barrier Jacket activated and Mach Calibur went into its rollerskate form. Racing her way outside, she found that a giant machine had just cleaved a five-story building in half with a sword made of energy.

The white robot was in the shape of a man, and several stories tall. A tattered blue cape was hanging from its shoulder, a pauldron adorned the opposite shoulder, and it wore an equally tattered blue hat that, were she familiar with Earth history, Subaru would've associated with Napoleon Bonaparte. And in the mecha's hand was a beam-saber.

Its loudspeakers activated, and someone - likely a pilot - demanded, "TSAB Agent, we know you've been tracking us. You can either face this Titan of Rose and be destroyed... or stay back while I annihilate the city. Make your choice, lawman!"

The audacity of this guy was pissing her off. Skating through the air on her mystic azure road, Subaru roared, "Face _you_? Why don't y_ou_ face _**ME?!**_"

Registering the challenge, the cultist pilot opened up the pauldron on Gundam Rose, before several small - relative to the Gundam, as they were easily as large in circumference as Subaru herself was tall - drones shaped like rosebuds flew out, each firing a laser beam at her.

Mach Calibur's automatic defensive programs proved enough that one beam was as good as useless; a concentration of several beams, however, was another matter entirely. When a barrage of ten beams blasted her off her skypath and singed her barrier jacket, Subaru decided that the Rose Bits had become a higher immediate priority than Gundam Rose itself.

Quickly skating into the sky, the bluenette cyborg took a second to observe the layout of the city, before devising her plan of attack. With a shout, she sped towards the largest concentration of drones, making sure that they had a target lock, before dissolving her road at the last second to fall beneath the laserbeams as the crowd of drones destroyed each other.

A scant second later, she'd started up the spell again, and quickly began building up momentum like a rollercoaster as she raced towards the ground. At the last instant - as calculated by Mach Calibur - the path rose at a sharp angle, destroying a few drones that had been following too close behind her.

With the remainder of the Rose Bits in a semi-close cluster, she twisted around without changing her speed - effectively skating backwards - and powered up an attack spell. The gear on her gauntleted right hand spinning violently, the cyborg screamed "**REVOLLLVAAA!**

**"SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! ! ! ! !"**

She then punched in the direction of the drone-cloud, a bolt of blue hellfire annihilating the lot of them.

At that time, she barely heard the mecha pilot say "I'll run you through!" in time to spin back around on her wheels. No sooner had she done so than she observed an energy sword as thick as one of Nanoha's more powerful energy blasts coming to stab through Subaru.

With her left hand, Subaru brought up her most powerful protective spell, halting the beam saber in its tracks. "Mach Calibur, find this thing's weak spot!"

"Roger! Scanning now! ... Cockpit, power source, and controllers located!"

Grinning now that victory was at hand, Subaru activated her Inherent Skill as a cyborg. Eyes blazing gold, Subaru deactivated her barrier and fired Mach Calibur's rockets, screaming, "TAAAAAKE... THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!"

With one punch, she turned the localised particle beam into nothing before promptly reducing the sword's handle and the hand that held it into so much trash.

Forgoing her road, Subaru then skated up the Gundam's arm, its attempts to grab her proving futile. As the pilot became desperate, he flung Subaru high into the air, intent on attempting to catch her with gravity's assistance.

However, as she was directly over the Gundam's head, Subaru once more activated her device's rocket boosters while charging up for her most powerful offensive spell.

It was time to _end_ this.

As Gundam Rose looked up, Subaru thought she might've heard a muttered "oh shit" when the pilot saw the massive blue energy sphere between them. At the top of her lungs, the cyborg screamed

"BE! _COME!_ **SCRAP MEEETAAAAAAL!"**

She then punched down against the energy, completing her spell.

"DIIIIIIVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII INE! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

**"BUSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAA! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !"**

A massive stream of blue hellfire destroyed the Gundam's head unit and, after a moment, tore through into the cockpit, blasting the pilot with extreme force.

As a law-abiding officer, Subaru had of course set it to non-lethal, and the alloy the mech was made of absorbed a lot of the energy anyway.

Dismissing her rollerblades and the magic road she'd been on, Subaru dropped down to the cockpit intent on interrogating the pilot. Before she got close enough to grab him, however, the man immediately declared, "It doesn't matter if you make it to the asteroid ruin or not - by this time, my comrades have already obtained the artifact! You're _too late,_ government dog!"

He then produced a pill and attempted to swallow it, but Subaru was too quick, and shoved her cybernetic hand in his mouth to prevent him from having the chance. Knocking the capsule out of his hand, she lifted the criminal by his collar and demanded, "Too late to stop them from doing _what?!_"

The man laughed. "Our leader will summon the Great Destroyer... that invincible god that annihilates everything in its path! And with it under our command, the TSAB will be totally obliterated!"

Then, before she could attempt to get anything else from him, the man snapped his own neck.

With a small curse, Subaru looked around and observed that a travel agency was conveniently nearby. Charging in, she stormed to the counter and asked the coordinates to any archaeological sites in the local asteroid belt.

Quickly accomodated, Subaru summoned her one-passenger spaceship to her position, and took off. She had to get to that site, hope that she _wasn't _too late, and somehow manage to pull off a miracle.

After all, that was exactly what Strikers _did_.

* * *

_In outer space..._

Subaru had managed to find the indicated site and arrive. Not only that, she'd managed to do it stealthily enough that the villains apparently had no idea she'd even made it.

Taking a moment to line up the crosshairs on her screen - Subaru could've opted for automatic computer targeting, but preferred to handle aiming herself - the Silver Ace fired a tracer at the enemy vessel.

"Yes! Direct hit!"

A few seconds later, the ship warped out of normal space and into another dimension, intent on some other destination. Subaru was about to leave, when she suddenly heard a voice in her head.

_Someone, please... help me..._

She _knew_ this voice. Though they didn't spend a lot of time hanging around each other, Subaru instantly recognized who was contacting her and flew to the ruins at once.

Subaru could track down the criminals almost at leisure now that she had a tracer on their ship.

If someone might be in immediate danger nearby, then investigating that took priority for the moment.

Subaru felt she needed to spend a little more time with her pseudo-twin's - that is, Nove's - husband, anyway.

* * *

**Notes: The actual word "Gundam" was too damaged to read on any of the written records that survived the millenia since **_**G Gundam**_** took place, hence why everyone except Master Asia and myself (and, starting next chapter, Yuuno and Subaru) uses God/Titan/etc.**

**Now then, I predict that the next chapter will be the climax - in fact, originally the next chapter was going to be the whole fic **_**period**_**, before... well, before it grew a **_**plot**_** - and then an epilogue after that to tie up any loose plot threads I think need to be taken care of.**


End file.
